First Day in the Caribbean - DiveShop 07

Rick and Karen looked at each other. Rick gulped. He had completely forgotten to check Mr. Cairn's certification. Apparently he wasn't aware of Rick and Karen's rolê in the tragedy.

Karen spoke first. "Well, Mr. Cairns, it's almost suppertime. Would you care to join us? We're going to Momma Rita's. Our treat. How close is your wife? She's invited too."

Mr. Cairns made a quick call, and she complained about the short notice, but agreed to meet them in 15 minutes, a free meal's a free meal. He looked up. "How about I go get her and we meet you there in 15 minutes?"

Octavia sat Rick and Karen in the corner booth again. They sat side by side, against the wall. "I have a confession to make," he said. "Last time we ate here, I sat across from you like the etiquette books say to do, and it nearly drove me crazy. In training they pound into us never to expose our backs, and my back was facing the center of the room. Good thing I was—am—so infatuated, but I feel a lot more comfortable facing this way. Sorry for being paranoid, but they did it to us on purpose and for a reason."

"Maybe that explains why you noticed that burglar," she squeezed his leg, running her hand upwards. "Besides, side by side has its advantages, too; and what if they are out to get you?"

"Hmm, I guess you're right." He put his hand on hers, nestled in his crotch.

Octavia delivered the Cairnses to the table and everyone did greetings all around. Supper was enjoyable. Tobias (which he insisted they call him, not Mr. Cairns, "Too stuffy"), recited the tank explosion incident, doing a fairly accurate job, but it sounded funnier and less dangerous the way he told it. Mabel, Mrs. Cairns, laughed delightedly at the funny places and often looked admiringly at her husband. They were a delightful couple.

At one point, Tobias pointed off across the room, remarking to his wife, "See them? That'll be us in ten years."

Mabel leaned and looked. "Tobias, that's a mirror!"

Both Rick and Karen guffawed.

Mabel sat back with a satisfied look. "We do that joke whenever we meet new people. He likes to tell jokes."

Rick invited Tobias to attend the next scuba certification class. "The technology has changed a lot, it's interesting, you might actually learn something, and I won't get arrested for filling your nice new tank." He mentioned that the dives that came with the lessons were from their own pontoon boat.

"Can Mabel come along for the ride?" he asked. Mabel nodded enthusiastically.

Rick looked at Karen. "I suppose, if there's room. The number of students in the class makes a difference in the amount of space."

Right then he said he'd come by and sign up. Rick heaved a quiet sigh of relief, Mabel expressed hope that the class wouldn't be too large, and Karen figured she'd better get on the stick and schedule a class.

Karen scheduled their first official class to start two weeks hence, then got to work creating and sending out flyers. True to his word, Tobias came in and signed up. He admired the burst air tank in the corner of the entrance and suggested she drape some fishing net around it. Fred the welder signed up for the class, too. They ended up with six students, one female, and Mabel was able to come on the boat. She brought everyone sandwiches.

It came out that both Tobias and Fred wanted to dive the wreck. Rick told them that a wreck wasn't a good place for beginner training dives, but he would take them there for their last class' dive.

The class itself went well. Everyone was diligent about their lessons, and caught on fairly well to how to use dive charts. Everyone also passed the swimming requirements, and performed the underwater exercises adequately. Karen picked up several good sales as the students learned about the equipment and technology and made informed decisions about what they wanted.

The day of the wreck dive finally came. The seas were a little rough, and Mabel decided she'd get seasick, so she stayed in the store with Karen. Bill and Rick were pretty much immune to seasickness, and everyone else was okay once they got into the water.

Everyone except Fred swam happily around the wreck, pointing at fish and new marine growth. Fred went straight to the damage in the hull and spent the whole dive carefully examining everything he could get to. Later he told Rick that he had worked on the boat at one time and was pleased to see that none of his welds had given way. Rick knew that, welds notwithstanding, the boat could not have survived that collision with the land, but he was impressed with Fred's devotion to duty; it increased his confidence in the pontoon boat.

When they got back to the shop, Rick ceremoniously signed everyone's open water certifications, including a PHT degree for Mabel. PHT stood for "Putting Hubby Through." Everyone congratulated her, and said they would miss her sandwiches.

Eventually everyone departed and they had the place to themselves. "Whew! What would I have done without you, Rick?" Karen said, "I didn't think about not being able to conduct classes and run the store at the same time. Well, maybe I would have eventually, but you really came along at an opportune time. I think I want to thank you." She locked the store door. When she turned to face him, she smiled and took off her top. "You're about to be seduced by a mermaid. Take your clothes off and go lie down on the bed. On your back."

"I've never been seduced by a mermaid before," Rick said, pretending to be uncertain.

"Then you haven't lived." She sauntered toward him, hips swaying. She pushed down her shorts until they barely covered her slit. "Get in there."

Rick went into the office/bedroom and took off his shorts and T-shirt, then lay down on the bed. Karen came in, pussy still barely covered, a wreath of flowers on her head. She had another top on, silky and transparent. She had tugged the neckline down, provocatively revealing her cleavage. Smiling all the while, she shrugged the straps off her shoulders, and pulled the fabric farther down, almost revealing her nipples. "Spread your legs. Mermaids can stand only when they're between a sailor's legs."

Rick moved his feet apart and bent his knees, leaving his erect member as exposed as it could get.

"That's nice," she said, leaning forward as if to inspect and letting her top fall away, exposing her breasts to Rick's view. Then she pulled the hem down and the top slid to her waist. Still leaning over, she slowly pulled the top and her shorts down to her Knees. She did a few slow bumps, thrusting her crotch toward him. "This is how we mermaids swim, you know. The dolphin kick." She let the clothes drop to her ankles, then stepped out of them and kicked them aside. "Raise your knees."

Rick raised his knees, and she put her hands on them, lowering herself so she was kneeling.

"Now I'm going to go deep sea exploring," and she slid her hands down his inner thighs, switching to her fingernails as she approached his manhood. "Hmm, I found a sea mount. Maybe I'll mount it." She gave him a wicked grin. "Then again, maybe I won't." She wrapped her arms around his legs and pulled them against her breasts. She rotated her torso back and forth to rub her breasts against his thighs.

Rick sighed in enjoyment. "You can keep that up as long as you want." His erection twitched.

Karen smiled with satisfaction, and put her hands in his crotch, gently pulling him toward her breasts. She was able to circle one of her nipples with the end of his member, then moved to the other. "You feel good on me. I like that," she said. "Do you like this?" She grabbed his member as tightly as she could and slid her hand down.

"Oh yes," Rick gasped.

"How about this," she asked, twisting her hand just below the glans.

"Don't know how long I can last if you keep that up," he grunted.

She resumed more gentle ministrations, stroking his whole genital area, moving his skin up and down, bending him this way and that, but gradually getting more and more aggressive. She watched him to gauge his reaction. When he was jerking and twitching satisfactorily, she began to pump, going harder and faster, pulling his skin down as far as it would go, squeezing harder and pumping faster until he jerked spasmodically, ejecting cum, gasping and moaning, tossing his head from side to side.

"Ungh, ahh, hnngh hnngh hnngh!" He took a deep breath. "You didn't get any."

"Always thinking of me. I had fun playing with you, and no doubt I'll get a turn, but this was a thank-you from me to you." She smiled, her hand still on him. "Look at me some more." She arched her back, nipples hard, breasts pointing out. "See how happy I am?"

"I never know what to expect from you, woman." He smiled and didn't take his eyes off her, feasting on her chest, even though he'd just been satisfied. "C'mere, young lady. Let's snuggle."

——————-

During the first couple weeks after the storm, they finished fixing up the apartment. Karen bought some window treatments, Rick picked up another dresser and cleared off the bed frame so they could put the mattress on it. They settled in harmoniously, but Karen kept the bed in the office at the dive shop. "It adds spontaneity," she said. Which it did.

One evening Bill Jr. walked into the dive shop and announced, "Well, I found something to do with my life, I guess. I sort of bought a bicycle store." He handed them a some brochures. "You willing to put a few of these in your rack?"

"Be glad to," said Karen. "Maybe we should go buy a couple bikes, too, eh? Where'd you get enough money to buy a business, not that it's any of our business. You still going to find time to pilot the Gusbill? How's your mom doing?"

Bill counted off on his fingers. "Lessee. Sure you can buy some bikes! Buy a dozen! The owner wants to retire; his health is declining. He has no family, and the shop is everything he owns, so all he wants is enough to live on until he dies or the cost of the shop is paid, whichever comes first. A good deal, I think. I expect I should be able to keep piloting the boat, but it wouldn't hurt if you kept your eyes open for someone else. You never know how well the shop's gonna go. I named it Bill's Bikes, by the way. Mom." He sighed. "Well, not so well. Mostly she just sits and watches TV. Octavia and I have kind of taken over cooking and cleaning. She doesn't seem interested in anything. I wish we knew what to do," he finished sadly.

Karen was content to walk between the apartment and the dive shop, but Rick decided he might like a faster commute, so he visited Bill's bike store and bought a bike. He got a carrier for the back that could be made into a pillion with the addition of a cushion.

The dive shop was doing fairly well. Karen was busy, she enjoyed the work, and had a good head for business. For some reason, she and Rick never discussed his "employment" at the dive shop. He just came in after working at the boatworks and there was always something for him to do in the shop, and they shared the teaching when they had classes. When Karen's birthday rolled around, Rick gave her a box of challenge coins customized for the dive shop. They became a popular item with their customers, and both Rick and Karen had to be careful to keep a coin with them or they'd be buying a lot of people beers.

——————-

One day at the boatworks, a fellow who gave the impression of being new to the island and the Caribbean in general stopped by and asked a lot of questions about sailboats and maritime business. Rick was impressed with the guy's apparent intelligence and thoughtful questions. After a couple days, when the fellow never came back, Rick forgot about him. Then about two weeks later, as Rick came into the dive shop, he sensed someone behind him, so he turned around to see who it was. Recognition dawned. "You stopped by about two weeks ago and asked a lot of questions about the maritime business. I wondered if you would come back and buy a boat!" he grinned and offered his hand.

The man took it. "Well, not yet. I decided to learn to dive first."

"You came to the right place. Rick Kahurangi, at your service. This here's Karen Janks rhymes with tanks, my boss."

Karen smiled. "We met. He's already signed up for next week's class. His name's Asch, by the way."

Rick's eyebrows shot up. "Hey, that's great. We'll do our best to keep you from drowning. Almost, but not quite, I always say," he grinned.

Asch smiled along with him as Karen rolled her eyes. She had heard the quip a hundred times. "Actually, I was hoping to meet you, sir. I have an ulterior motive for stopping by this evening. I accidentally showed someone my challenge coin this afternoon and she insists on serving me a free beer at Rita's tonight. I hate to dine alone, so I'm inviting you two to join me for supper, my treat."

Rick and Karen looked at each other. Karen said, "That someone wouldn't happen to be Octavia, would it?" her eyes twinkled.

Asch nodded and smiled.

Rick registered surprise. "Octavia? Good kid. Cool but a nice eyeful. Let's do it."

"Well, okay. I don't have much planned anyway. 5:30 you say? I'll close up and meet you guys there." She disappeared into the back.

Rick looked at Asch. "I live about on the way there. I'll rush home and clean up. Meet you there, too. 5:30."

After dinner Rick and Karen headed for the apartment. "So do you think he knows we have a relationship?" Rick asked.

"I wouldn't be at all surprised if Asch has it figured out," Karen replied, "He's pretty laid back, but he's a sharp cookie. I don't think he misses much."

"Yeah. I think he's pretty secure financially too. He didn't even look at the tab, just gave Octavia his plastic." Rick ruminated a moment. "And what's that with him and Mary? I thought he and Octavia were hooked up."

"Well, if anything's going on, Octavia doesn't seem to mind. It's pretty clear all three are good friends."

"And it's none of our business, either. I'm pretty happy right now; I don't need a soap opera in my life." Rick shook his head.

Yeah, but I wonder if he's good enough in bed to keep them both happy," Karen teased.

Rick rolled his eyes. "I don't know about you, woman. I think you're actually half serious about checking him out." He paused for a moment. "Find out how good he is if you want, but I sure hope you don't lose interest in me."

Karen looked at him. "You are the most interesting guy I know. No matter what happens, I promise I'll never lose interest in you. Just because I eat steak doesn't mean I'm not sometimes curious about hamburger." She had no interest in "checking out" Asch, but occasionally she liked to tease Rick.

"Thanks for the compliment. I like being the steak."

"Suppose I be the steak sauce and get on top tonight?" she grinned.

"Sounds pretty tasty to me." They switched from hand in hand to arm in arm.

-----

That's it, folks! Maybe the story's not quite over-After all, Asch is about to take his scuba class. The kids in the bike shop might be up to something, too.